Not feeling good

con1888

2 weeks is not enough, the dog may have walked fine in the rescue and they may not have lied to you atall. It may be that the dog is just excited at his new surroundings. Have you tried training classes? If you get a muzzle in the short term until the problem is sorted then there is no risk to the children.

I hate to see people giving up so soon, it's really not fair on the dogs. If you do then please do not get another dog as all dogs may act differentley whilst they are settling in with a new family. It is a new, exciting and scary experience for them but with guidance and training they will soon settle down.

con1888

If you adopted a child who hit another child would you take it back or would you work with the child so that it realised that this behaviour was wrong....

animals are no different, they too need to learn.

HeatherintheHills

Syman wrote: »

Not feeling good about myself at the moment. the rescue dog we took on a couple of weeks ago ( a 13 month old male collie/Lab cross) is going back to the rescue centre.

Whilst most of the time he is a calm easy going sort of dog, he can also be unpredictalbe. when out for a walk he will be fine for a while then go all doolally jumping up, biting the lead (and me or whoever is walking, including DD and DW) also when coming across other dogs he ignores the dog and jumps up at the owner

I know we have not had him long, but i live and work in a school, IF he were to get out and bite a child (and it would only be from excitement, not aggression) i would not forgive myself.

I know we have not had him long, and maybe we are giving up a little too quickly, but the risk is there.

As i said, I feel awful, I also feel like i have failed my boy in not giving him the good home he deserves, though he will make someone a good pet.

that's it. thankyou for listening.

Syman, is his tail wagging when he jumps up? It sounds as if the bites are love nips, his teenager way of saying thank you for taking me out of that place. Young dogs need to be taught boundaries and this boy comes with baggage, making the task slightly more difficult. Do you know his history? Why was he put up for re-homing and how long was he in the rescue centre?

When he jumps up, if you stop walking and give him a firm NO every time I'd bet he picks up on that quite quickly. Remember he wants to please you, use that instinct to let him see which behaviours are unacceptable. Praise him when he behaves well.

He hasn't had long to get used to his new environment and will be experimenting to see what is allowed and what is not. It is up to you to ensure he is given plain messages on what is acceptable and what is not.

It sounds like he is a dog that loves tug of war, get him a rubber pull and teach him to play nicely with it, it will redirect his tendencies (and wear him out a bit).

It does sound like the sort of problem which would be very easily sorted out by proper training. As suggested earlier, a muzzle and harness could be used until you are more confident with his behaviour.

He sounds like a nice dog. I hope you can work out a way of keeping him.

love_lifer

god it takes months for a new dog to settle in. my rescue staffie is still learning, as am i, 5 months in. maybe a dog is not a good idea if you cant cope already. no pets is fairest perhaps

Buckslad_2

I blame the rescue centre. You should never have been placed with a collie/lab if you dont have experience of collies. Its probably for the best that he is returned sooner rather than later so he has the best possible chance of going to a suitable home.

lisawood78

Fully agree with Aliasojo on this, this dog is a teenager and is simply behaving how teenage dogs do.

Owning any dog can have its risks.

I own 25 stone of dog (over 30 when the pups full grown) and they could cause a lot of damage if they got out (not deliberate agression or even playfulness but they could cause a car crash or something I guess, the puppy also nips when excited as puppies do but we are working it out of her)

They are well trained but you take care not to let them loose anywhere there could be potential issues, you take care not to let them harrass people in public places, or even in your own home. You take the challenges their behaviour presents and you modify it, by training, more exercise, training classes, whatever it takes.

Any dog you own could escape and bite a child, a grown up or another dog/cat/anything, dogs can and do bite despite all our efforts but when you put all the effort together (caution opening external doors, decent training, leads in busy areas) this is true for whatever type of dog it is also, the little yappy ones can be just as bad as anything big or medium or any size/breed.

If you are giving up this early then the dog would be better off elsewhere and as above you would be best not to consider another, in the very least until you have the time/patience to commit to this undertaking.

coinxoperated

One part of me is so angry that you got a dog with collie in which, if you had down your research properly, you would of known that dogs of that breed need mental and physical stimulation 10x more than an older Labrador sort of dog. I think it's disgusting that you took on a dog considering you seem to have no idea on how to train and manage one responsibly and your only answer being 'get rid'.

On the other hand, the poor dog deserves a better owner and a better life than what he will have with you. Take him back while he's young, and i would go to some dog training classes prior to actually getting another dog so you know how to handle different behvaiours. Might be worth getting a hamster or fish or something instead?

Syman

Fortunately i do not have to justify myself to the patronising sanctimonious holier that thou posters.

When we decided to go for a rescue dog we did our research asked for a rescue dog we specifically asked for a labrador,their temperament is suitable for the position we are in. They contacted us about this dog, and gave us the information they had. so we decided as a family to give him a chance.

WE as a family have decided the dog is not suitable for us and our situation. He will. i am sure, make someone a great pet. We made the choice to return him for this very reason, we could not give him what he needs.

Having said that he spent two weeks out of the kennels, where he was walked three times a day, fed, played with and generally shown some affection.

Whilst the character assassinations and patronising posts are all well and good, it changes nothing. The dog will find someone, we will find the dog that suits us.

con1888

So what happens if the next dog does something you don't like and can't be bothered to train?

It's good that you went down the rescue route, it really is but you have to understand that a dog is an animal, none are perfect and they all need to learn and you need to be willing to work with them.

lisawood78

Until you are ready to put the work in, no dog will suit you.